Full Version: DMA jumper on Plextor PX-712A
I recently bought a Plextor PX-712A DVD burner. It is working very nicely. However, I am intrigued by a jumper on the back panel. As well as the usual three jumpers for Master/Slave/CSEL, there is a fourth one labelled DMA. Nowhere in the included documentation is it mentioned. At the moment the jumper is open, and the drive appears to be operating fine in DMA mode. Anyone know what this jumper is for?
I suppose it forces DMA mode at all times.
When a drive has problems, the OS might
switch the drive to PIO mode, IIRC.
With my Plexwriter I couldn't burn any data
CDs properly without the jumper in the DMA
position. Most of the files on the CD-Rs were
corrupted. Then I tried to set the jumper to
DMA and the problem was fixed. I have no
idea though why it did not function correctly
in MASTER...
If I were you I'd check if all files are verified
after burning. Use Nero's verification feature
or a checksum tool to make sure.
When a drive has problems, the OS might
switch the drive to PIO mode, IIRC.
With my Plexwriter I couldn't burn any data
CDs properly without the jumper in the DMA
position. Most of the files on the CD-Rs were
corrupted. Then I tried to set the jumper to
DMA and the problem was fixed. I have no
idea though why it did not function correctly
in MASTER...
If I were you I'd check if all files are verified
after burning. Use Nero's verification feature
or a checksum tool to make sure.
It is to force a slower multi-word DMA mode instead of Ultra DMA.
QUOTE
It is to force a slower multi-word DMA mode instead of Ultra DMA.
Is there a down side to using multi-word DMA instead of Ultra DMA?
QUOTE(yourtallness @ Sep 9 2004, 06:37 PM)
QUOTE
It is to force a slower multi-word DMA mode instead of Ultra DMA.
Is there a down side to using multi-word DMA instead of Ultra DMA?
Yes, it is slower.
QUOTE(Sebastian Mares @ Sep 9 2004, 09:42 AM)
QUOTE(yourtallness @ Sep 9 2004, 06:37 PM)
QUOTE
It is to force a slower multi-word DMA mode instead of Ultra DMA.
Is there a down side to using multi-word DMA instead of Ultra DMA?
Yes, it is slower.
... but may be more compatible with some os+hardware+software combinations.
QUOTE(Sebastian Mares @ Sep 9 2004, 07:42 PM)
Yes, it is slower.
but, can you feel it?
I mean, Multiword DMA offers 16 MB/s bandwidth.
52x speed doesn't need more than 10 MB/s, so I don't see any problem in using Multiword DMA.
QUOTE(minix @ Sep 9 2004, 08:17 PM)
QUOTE(Sebastian Mares @ Sep 9 2004, 07:42 PM)
Yes, it is slower.
but, can you feel it?
I mean, Multiword DMA offers 16 MB/s bandwidth.
52x speed doesn't need more than 10 MB/s, so I don't see any problem in using Multiword DMA.
Thanks to everyone for the feedback.
It's on a UDMA133 controller, so I presume it'll be OK running in Ultra DMA mode. I personally don't really care what mode it's in as long as it's not PIO!
Will certainly verify the first few burns I do (as suggested by yourtallness).
I'll try to set the jumper to MASTER tomorrow
and see if the problem also occurs on my new
PC.
BTW, I've got two dodgy Plextor drives at the
mo: the PX-W4824A has a malfunctioning CD
tray, and my PX-116A has stopped working
altogether. The LED goes on, but the tray
doesn't open and it's not recognized by my PC...
Time to check out the famous Plextor on-site collect
service.
and see if the problem also occurs on my new
PC.
BTW, I've got two dodgy Plextor drives at the
mo: the PX-W4824A has a malfunctioning CD
tray, and my PX-116A has stopped working
altogether. The LED goes on, but the tray
doesn't open and it's not recognized by my PC...
Time to check out the famous Plextor on-site collect
service.
QUOTE(minix @ Sep 9 2004, 11:17 AM)
QUOTE(Sebastian Mares @ Sep 9 2004, 07:42 PM)
Yes, it is slower.
but, can you feel it?
I mean, Multiword DMA offers 16 MB/s bandwidth.
52x speed doesn't need more than 10 MB/s, so I don't see any problem in using Multiword DMA.
If you only have the drive as the only device for that IDE channel, then there won't be any difference. However, when you have another device on the IDE channel, such as hard-drive, this would probably make the hard-drive to operate at the lower speed. If the drive is on Ultra DMA, then the hard drive can also operate on Ultra DMA.
QUOTE(cliveb @ Sep 9 2004, 07:31 PM)
Will certainly verify the first few burns I do (as suggested by yourtallness).
I verify every single data burn I do (rarely burn audio). I'd hate to find out that the data is corrupt at a later date. Is this not common practise?
While it certainly won't affect uncached CD reading speed, it will affect writing. Prebuffering at the start of the writing operation will be slightly slower, while 12x DVD recording will probably be impossible. (~15.85MB/s, scraping the limit. It might work, but I wouldn't recommend it.)
If you don't need the feature, there's no reason to enable it.
If you don't need the feature, there's no reason to enable it.
QUOTE(cliveb @ Sep 8 2004, 08:38 AM)
As well as the usual three jumpers for Master/Slave/CSEL, there is a fourth one labelled DMA. Nowhere in the included documentation is it mentioned.
Installation and Users Manual, p.24.
QUOTE(Never_Again @ Sep 11 2004, 06:16 PM)
QUOTE(cliveb @ Sep 8 2004, 08:38 AM)
As well as the usual three jumpers for Master/Slave/CSEL, there is a fourth one labelled DMA. Nowhere in the included documentation is it mentioned.
Installation and Users Manual, p.24.
The only manual I have is on the DVD (titled "PX-712 Series Application DVD-ROM") that came with the drive. And there is definitely no mention of this DMA jumper in it. The Master, Slave and CSEL jumpers are discussed around pages 23-24, so it sounds like a similar manual to the one you have. I'd be very grateful if you could quote the relevant part about the DMA jumper from your manual.
Thanks.
QUOTE
from the PX-712A/PX-712SA manual
Set the DMA Jumper
Your PX-712A ships from the factory with no DMA jumper installed.
(The pins are empty.) The empty pins mean the drive is set to Ultra
DMA. This setting should work in most cases, so you don’t have to do
anything more.
With some personal computers (usually older ones) that do not have an
Ultra DMA IDE chipset, the computer may “hang” or crash with the
PX-712A set to the default Ultra DMA setting. If this happens, change
the PX-712A to Multiword DMA mode by installing the spare jumper
across the two DMA jumper pins just to the left of the mode jumper
pins.
Set the DMA Jumper
Your PX-712A ships from the factory with no DMA jumper installed.
(The pins are empty.) The empty pins mean the drive is set to Ultra
DMA. This setting should work in most cases, so you don’t have to do
anything more.
With some personal computers (usually older ones) that do not have an
Ultra DMA IDE chipset, the computer may “hang” or crash with the
PX-712A set to the default Ultra DMA setting. If this happens, change
the PX-712A to Multiword DMA mode by installing the spare jumper
across the two DMA jumper pins just to the left of the mode jumper
pins.
QUOTE(Never_Again @ Sep 14 2004, 06:40 AM)
from the PX-712A/PX-712SA manual
(snip)
(snip)
Thanks, much appreciated. That text is definitely not present anywhere in the manual that was supplied on the DVD with the drive. I tried looking on Plextor's website for another manual, but couldn't find one - but I was on the European website (www.plextor.be)
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